On October 19th, Roy Nelson lost a unanimous decision against fellow UFC heavyweight contender Daniel Cormier. Cormier proved to be the faster, more agile heavyweight as he outboxed and outwrestled “Big Country” for three rounds. It’s no secret that Dana White and Roy Nelson don’t always see eye to eye on every issue, but even so, White insisted that he has always been nothing short of fair to Nelson.

“Contrary to popular belief, I try so hard to like Roy Nelson,” said White following the UFC 166 post fight press conference.

After suffering his defeat against Daniel Cormier, Nelson’s comments seemed to have angered the UFC President. Regarding his victorious opponent, Nelson said that he was not impressed with him. He also added, “he didn’t engage me really.”

Evidently, Nelson was displeased with Cormier’s fighting style and strategy. He elaborated further by saying, “that’s not to take anything away from Cormier, but it’s tough to fight like that. He’s a great fighter, but it’s frustrating.”

These comments made White’s jaw drop.

White went on a rant, “he said Cormier wasn’t engaging enough,” White said, referring to Nelson’s comments. “He outwrestled him, and he punched the living s–t out of him. How much more does he want to be engaged? He says some dumb s–t, and he’s very delusional.”

White maintains that he always tries to be nice to Roy Nelson, but Nelson’s comments tend to get under his skin. “It’s like I saw him backstage before I came out to talk to you guys. I was like, ‘What’s up Roy? You looked good. You lost weight,’ and this and that. Then I come out and hear the stupid s–t he said to you guys right before I walk out there.”

White also showed his annoyance with Roy Nelson’s pleas for a title shot.

“He says we’ve never given him a title shot when we should have given him a title shot,” White said. “Every time you get that close to a title shot, you get beat by the best in the world. That’s why you’ve never had a title shot.”

This latest loss to Cormier is Nelson’s second loss in a row. He also lost a unanimous decision to Stipe Miocic back in June. If Nelson fails to win his next fight and keeps annoying his boss, it’s very likely that his UFC career may be over sooner than he thinks.

White’s comments certainly don’t sound good for what a boss thinks of an employee who has recently had poor work performance.

Steve became interested in combat sports when he joined his high
school’s wrestling team as freshman. His experience as a wrestler
sparked his interest in mixed martial arts when he recognized the
compatibility between the two sports. From there, he continued to
wrestle all throughout college until he earned his bachelor’s degree
in history. Steve’s interests in combat sports center mostly around
grappling, but he’s also interested in the history of the sport and
where it’s headed in the future.

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